FIBA Basketball

Second IBF Youth Leadership Seminar in Singapore; a massive success

The second edition of the IBF Youth Leadership Seminar in Singapore, selected 17 Youth Leaders from 17 different countries to attend a workshop which focused on training the participants' leadership skills

SINGAPORE - The second edition of the IBF Youth Leadership Seminar in Singapore held on May 24-26, selected 17 Youth Leaders from 17 different countries to attend a workshop which focused on training the participants' leadership skills and equiping them with the necessary knowledge to run 3x3 tournaments in their respective countries.

The program introduced the Foundation's Basketball For Good mission to the Youth Leaders which encouraged them to use basketball as a tool to help their communities promote a healthy lifestyle, social inclusiveness, and gender equality.

FIBA Oceania Executive Director, David Crocker attended the program and commended the effect it had on the future leaders of basketball in the region.

"The IBF Youth Leadership project is one of my favorite IBF programs. It is an opportunity to help develop the future leaders of our sport. Seeing the enthusiasm and energy of the participants has been very inspiring for everyone involved," said Crocker.

"The future of basketball in the region is in good hands with the youth leaders leading the way for our sport," he added.

Of the 17 young participants of the program, 12 of them are women. The number of women leaders involved in the program is a source of pride for the IBF. The Foundation is confident that the participants will serve as good role models for young girls in their respective countries.

Similar to last year's edition, the Youth Leader's were tasked to organize a local 3x3 Mixed Tournament on their second day at the Australia International School.

The seminar's moderator, Mthoko Madonda, a former captain of the South African national basketball team praised the Youth Leader's success in running the 3x3 tournament which included a U14 and U16 division.

"They did incredibly well in organizing the tournament. I liked the way they communicated to each other. I thought they showed a lot of maturity, compassion, and kindness," Madonda said.

"We arrived late and some of the things did not go as smoothly as we would have liked but they rebounded well, they were very resilient and I am very proud of them," he added.

IBF CSR Senior Associate, Theren Bullock flew to Singapore to assist in moderating the seminar and guiding the Youth Leaders in using the FIBA Event Maker which is part of their training in organizing official FIBA 3x3 tournaments.

"I think they did an amazing job of learning the Event Maker in a short amount of time. They were able to test their knowledge by running the 3x3 Basketball tournament at the Australia International School," Bullock said.

FIBA Oceania Board Member and Association of the National Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission Chairperson Karo Lelai graced the workshop and offered words of encouragement to the Youth Leaders.

"This is a great opportunity for all of you. If I had had the same opportunity when I was young, I would have been able to do more so I hope you make the most out of it,” Karo said. "Sport has given me wings to fly over the world and has given so much to my life. I look forward to meeting you again as leaders in basketball.”

The development of the Youth Leaders in the 3-day seminar helped the participants prepare for the second phase of the program; organizing their own Mixed U18 3x3 tournament in their respective countries.

The program will culminate with the IBF Youth Leadership Cup in Bali, Indonesia with the participants leading their respective teams for the tournament on September 27-29, 2019.

The IBF Youth Leadership Seminar is facilitated by FIBA's Foundation, the International Basketball Foundation (IBF) in partnership with FIBA's regional office in Singapore.

Participating countries and their selected representatives for the Youth Leadership Seminar are:

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